Digital nomads looking to head to a fascinating ancient country at the crossroads of European and Arabic cultures will be delighted to know that a long-term digital nomad visit is now available in Türkiye with its new digital nomad visa.
Why Türkiye?
Türkiye is jam-packed with history, culture and fascinating attractions for digital nomads to explore.
Officially founded somewhere around 1299 as part of the original Ottoman Empire, Türkiye has been at the crossroads of Asia and Europe ever since.
The first point of entry to Türkiye and its culture usually starts at Istanbul for most travelers. The largest city in the country with a population of more than five million in the metro area, it was originally founded by the Greeks back in the seventh century.
There are several amazing places to visit in Istanbul including the Hagia Sophia, the Galata Tower and the Maiden’s Tower.
Turkish Airlines makes it easy for digital nomads to arrive in the country. It has nonstop flights to Istanbul from Atlanta, Chicago-O’Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston-Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Newark, New York-JFK, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington-Dulles.
Istanbul was considered the Most Visited City in the World last year with more than 20 million international visitors.
It is also considered relatively affordable, due to economic issues and currency exchange challenges that the country is currently facing.
What Are The Visa Rules?
According to Fragomen, applications are being accepted from United States residents, along with several other countries. Applicants must be college graduates aged between 21 and 55 years of age.
Digital nomad visa applicants are required to have medical insurance, a business contract (if working as a freelancer) and meet minimum income level requirements.
The visa is only available currently for stays in Türkiye for up to 90 days. More information about residency, authorized stay times and renewals were not available at the time of the writing of this article.
Nomads must apply for the digital nomad visa online and then appear at the Turkish consulate overseeing their region to complete the visa process.
Türkiye has consulate offices available in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C.
As of the time of writing of this article, the Washington D.C. office had visa appointments available in about ten days.
What Nomads Need To Know
Because the process is still new, there are few details available about the time needed for review or approval of the new digital nomad visa. However, the short time frame to the appointment date was promising.
One of the major issues that digital nomads will want to be aware of is the issue with Internet speeds in Türkiye.
According to Ekonomim News, Türkiye ranks last among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in internet speed, with a median download rate of only 30.2 Mbps, the website reported.
Fast fiber connections account for only about a third of the total fixed Internet available in the country.
Nonetheless, Türkiye is a fascinating country that’s relatively affordable and should make an interesting place to spend some time and soak up some culture with a digital nomad visa.